A Change Of Plans
by Delectable Sweetness
Summary: Esme giggled, which surprised him. "You want to take my five year old to a fancy restaurant?" She laughed some more. Carlisle nodded. "Yeah," he said simply, wondering why Esme was laughing. He didn't think it was a stupid idea. "You know she's five, right? She'll probably end up getting food everywhere," she laughed lightly. AU/AH.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. They belong to Stephanie Meyers. No copy infringement intended. However, I do own my own writing, my own characters and the plot to this story, Delectable Sweetness****.**

**Author's Note: Just a little one-shot. AU/AH. Enjoy. :)**

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A Change Of Plans

Carlisle felt a little nervous as he knocked on the familiar apartment door. He dropped his hand back down to his side and began staring at his feet. He had no idea why he was so nervous. The hard part was over. He had already asked her out and she had agreed. Maybe it was the fact that he wanted the date to go well. Maybe that's why he was nervous.

This was their first date, the moment where they suddenly went from being just friends to, he hoped, something more and he didn't want to mess it up. He really liked Esme and he had been completely surprised when she had said yes to going out with him tonight.

He let out a shaky breath as he brought his free hand up and tugged on his tie, making sure that it was just perfect. He had to look perfect for her. In his left hand he held a bunch of beautiful, fresh, red roses. The petals were soft and silky, just like Esme's skin and the red of the petals was her favourite colour. He knew she loved roses, which is why he had gotten them for her. He had a small bag hooked around two of his fingers. That was a present for someone else.

He sucked in a big breath when the apartment door was pulled opened, revealing a mesmerising Esme on the other side. His heart constricted in his chest as he let his eyes roam over her. She was wearing a flattering, knee length red dress that dipped low in the front, revealing some of her cleavage. His eyes stayed locked on her breasts for a moment longer, just drinking in the sight of her firm mounds pushed up in the dress. It was tight from the waist up and flared out slightly the rest of the way down. She also had on black shoes that complimented her legs perfectly.

Licking his lips slightly, he let his eyes travel up the length of her goddess like body until they locked with her green orbs. He stared into them, his body beginning to feel an involuntary rush of arousal. He thought she looked so beautiful… so sexy, but he didn't want to embarrass himself by letting himself get lost in images of her lying beneath him.

He came out of his thoughts when he heard her beautiful voice. It was like music to his ears. "Hey, Carlisle," she said softly, giving him one of her dazzling smiles.

Carlisle smiled as he stepped into her apartment and waited till she shut the door to give her, her flowers. When the door was shut, she moved to stand back in front of him. "Hey, Esme," he said softly. "These are for you," he murmured a little shyly as he held out the roses towards her. "I know they're your favourite," he mumbled as she took them off of him.

"Thank you, Carlisle," she said, smiling as she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. Carlisle felt his heart flutter when she pressed her soft, luscious lips against his cheek. He smiled slightly. He wanted to pull her into a shameless kiss, but this was good. They were taking it slow and that was okay with him. He knew she had been hurt in the past and there was no way in hell that he was going to hurt her, let alone force her to do something she wasn't ready to do. "They're beautiful," she said softly, dragging him from his thoughts once again.

"You look beautiful, Esme," he complimented her.

Esme giggled slightly, blushing. "Thank you, Carlisle," she said as she reached out and linked her fingers with his. Carlisle's heart started to race at the sudden contact. He had never felt such an intense rush before. No other woman had ever made him feel so good with just a simple touch. "You don't look so bad yourself," she said as she walked beside him with their hands still linked.

Carlisle smiled slightly; glad to know that she liked how he looked. He had been afraid that she would have thought that he looked silly, but apparently she liked his look. He was wearing a nice, black suit with a white shirt and a black tie with black shoes to match. If he was being honest with himself, he thought he looked quite smart. It wasn't often that he got to wear a suit. He didn't really like them that much. Though, he usually spent most of his time in scrubs.

Tonight was an exception to that, though. He was taking Esme to a very fancy Italian restaurant called 'Roberto's.' He wanted to spoil her tonight. She deserved the best, especially after the last couple of months she had had.

Her ex had come back into her life after almost six years of being absent and had decided that he would try for full custody of Lily, Esme's five year old daughter. Thankfully, he didn't win. Esme was only starting to get over the fact that she had been so close to losing her daughter to a man who had never wanted her in the first place. He had tried to reassure her that he wouldn't have gotten Lily and he had been right, too.

When they walked into the living room, he let his eyes roam around the tidy space. There was someone missing. He turned to look at Esme, who still had a grip on his hand. He was happy that she hadn't let go yet. "Where's Lily?" He asked curiously.

Esme smirked. "She's in her room playing," she replied as she leaned in closer to him.

"Can I go say hello to her?" He asked curiously. Even though, he already knew that he could, he always liked to ask first.

Esme giggled slightly. "I suppose you can," she giggled some more as she pulled away from him, his body screaming out for her to move back to him. "Besides, you know if you don't… she'll probably beat you up." She chuckled as she began walking towards the kitchen. "I'll just go put these in some water. Elisha should be here in another thirty minutes and then we can go. Is that okay?" She stopped walking to look at him curiously.

Carlisle gave her a reassuring smile. "That's fine, Esme," he said softly, smiling as he watched her walk into the kitchen.

Feeling like the luckiest man in the world, he began walking towards the hall where Lily's room was situated. He always loved seeing Lily. If he had ever had a tough day and he happened to be over at Esme's, she would always put a smile on his face. She and Esme were the highlight of his day. Ever since Lily had been born, he had felt a sort of bond to her. Maybe that was because of how deeply he cared for Esme, he didn't know. All he did know was that if anything ever happened to her or Esme, there would be war.

Walking by Esme's room, he stopped outside of Lily's room door. It was slightly ajar. Giving a gentle knock on the door, he pushed it open slightly and peered his head in. "Can I come in?" He asked curiously, smiling when she looked up and gave him a big smile.

"Hey Cawisle!" She exclaimed.

Carlisle smiled as he pushed open the door the rest of the way and walked in. He walked over to where Lily was sitting on the floor a few feet away from the end of her bed, playing with her dolls. He squatted down and gave her a smile. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Playing," she said simply.

Carlisle chuckled. "Here, I got something for you," he said, holding out the small bag towards Lily.

Lily looked up at him with big, inquisitive eyes. "What is it?" She asked curiously. He watched as she took the bag from him and peered inside. He laughed lightly when he heard her gasp, squealing as she pulled her present out of the bag. She hugged it tight to her chest. "Thank you, Cawisle. I love it," she said giddily. "It's just like the dwagon off of the dwagon movie," she exclaimed.

Carlisle smiled as he ran his hand along the top of her head. She still had trouble pronouncing her 'R's' and some other words. It just made her seem even more adorable. "It is a pretty cool dragon, huh?" He said softly.

Lily just nodded as she held the dragon teddy close to her chest. "I'm gonna call it 'Toothless,'" she smiled, looking at him.

Carlisle chuckled. "I think that's the perfect name."

He watched as Lily stood up and moved over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug. When she pulled back, she looked at him. "Cawisle… can I ask you a question?" She asked curiously.

Carlisle gave her a soft smile. "Sure, what do you need to ask me, baby-girl?" He asked curiously.

"Well," she looked down shyly, fiddling with the hem of her pyjama jumper. "Am I… still your… little pwincess?" She asked, mumbling.

Carlisle placed his finger under her chin and gently lifted her head, so she was looking at him. He gave the little girl standing in front of him a curious stare, wondering why she had asked that question in the first place. Granted he wasn't her father, but to him she was still his little princess. "Of course you are. What made you ask that?" He asked curiously, lifting her up, so that she was sitting on his leg.

"Elisha said that I can't be your little pwincess!" She exclaimed.

Carlisle frowned. Elisha? That was her babysitter. Why would she say something like that? "Why?" He asked, his brow furrowing.

"'Cause you're not my daddy and 'cause you're not mawwied to my mommy," she mumbled.

Carlisle held her closer to him. "You'll always be my little princess, no matter what," he said softly. "Okay?"

He felt Lily nod her head against his shoulder. "Cawisle, do you love my mommy?" She asked curiously.

Carlisle smiled slightly. "More than anything in the world," he said simply. "But, shh… it's a secret." He laughed a little.

Lily giggled slightly. "Your secwet is safe with me." Carlisle smiled as he kissed the top of her head before placing her standing back on the ground.

"You go play for a little bit, while I go talk to your mommy, okay?" He said softly. Lily just nodded as she moved back over to her spot that she had been previously occupying and began playing with her dolls once again. She still had her dragon clutched in one arm. He was so glad that she liked it.

Standing up, he began walking out of her room. He had to talk to Esme. As much as he was looking forward to taking her out tonight, he wasn't so sure he felt comfortable leaving Lily with a babysitter who was telling her horrible things. There was no way in hell he was going to let anyone talk to Lily that way, whether he was with Esme or not. He would protect the both of them with his life. He would die for them if he had to.

As he was walking up the short hall, he saw Esme walking out of the kitchen. The kitchen door was directly across from the hallway. When you walked into the apartment, there was the living room, the kitchen to the left and the hall way to the right with all the different rooms. It was like a layout of a small house. It wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small either. It was perfect… nice and cosy.

When he walked into the living room, his heart immediately began racing again. He felt a little nervous talking to Esme about Elisha, and maybe it wasn't his place to, but he felt that he had to say something… anything that could possibly make Lily happy with who was babysitting her and who Esme could trust to babysit her. What he had to talk to Esme about seemed pretty small, but who's to say that Elisha hadn't told Lily other horrible things – things that were untrue?

He sucked in a deep breath when he finally reached her. He stopped in front of her and gave her a small smile. Would she hate him for interfering or would she appreciate being told? He unconsciously wet his lips by flicking the tip of his tongue along them. He tried desperately for a way to put what he wanted to tell her into words. It couldn't be that hard… could it? It was such a simple thing, nothing to be nervous about.

Sighing he gripped her hand and began leading her around the couch, so they could sit down. It would probably be better. Once they were sitting down, he turned slightly, so he was facing her, but he never let go of her hands. "Esme… we need to talk," he said slowly, pretty sure that the nervous look on his face would earn quite a few worried emotions from her.

Esme giggled a little. "What? You're not cancelling on me, are you?" She joked, but Carlisle gave her a resigned look. "What? You're cancelling on me?" She asked incredulous.

Carlisle's eyes went a little wide. "No… of course not… Well, not exactly. It's about… Lily," he said slowly as he continued to look at her.

"What about, Lily?" She asked curiously, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Well… okay, this might seem… silly or stupid or… none of my business, but… um…" he trailed off. Why couldn't he put what he wanted to tell her into words?

"Carlisle… what is it?" She asked, her voice filled with nothing but worry and concern for her daughter.

"Okay, this might be nothing, but – How do I put this into words without sounding weird?" He mumbled to himself. "Right! Well, you know her babysitter, Elisha? Well, she's been telling, Lily things," he said somewhat simply.

"What things?"

"You know how I call, Lily my little princess… because, well… she is? I care about her and you. The both of you are my world," he said softly, gently squeezing her hand. "Anyway, Elisha told, Lily – This might sound silly –but, she told her that she couldn't be my little princess… because, well… because I'm not her daddy and because I'm not married to you," he explained as simply as he could.

Esme looked at him curiously for a moment, pursing her lips in concentration. "Well, then I guess I can't have someone like that babysitting my little girl. The only thing is," she looked at her watch then looked back at him. "I have no idea where I'm going to find a babysitter on such short notice." She said simply, almost looking disappointed.

"Esme, I wouldn't have told you if I didn't think it was something to worry about. Who knows what else she's told, Lily? And Lily had seemed upset by it. I thought I was doing the right thing," he spoke a little hurriedly.

Esme gripped his face in her hands and gave him a smile. "Carlisle, relax okay? I'm glad you told me. I don't want anyone like that babysitting my little girl. You know, Lily's my world. I was just a little disappointed because I have to cancel on you," she said softly, smiling.

Carlisle smiled. "You don't have to cancel. We can take her with us." He smirked.

Esme giggled, which surprised him. "You want to take my five year old to a fancy restaurant?" She laughed some more.

Carlisle nodded. "Yeah," he said simply, wondering why Esme was laughing. He didn't think it was a stupid idea.

"You know she's five, right? She'll probably end up getting food everywhere," she laughed lightly.

Carlisle chuckled. "So, at least we'll know she'll be enjoying her food, and besides, I don't see the harm in bringing my two favourite girls to dinner," he smiled.

"You are so wonderful, and I'm glad that you asked me out," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. "God knows, I was too chicken to ask you," she mumbled.

He chuckled a little as he ran his hand up and down her back, feeling content from her close proximity to him. "It's kinda funny, don't you think?" He asked curiously.

"What is?"

"Well, we've known each other since high school, yet both of us were too nervous to ask the other one out," he said simply. They had met the very first day of high school and had been connected at the hip ever since. Everyone had thought for sure that they would have gotten together, but like Esme had said, both of them had been nervous. He was glad that he had finally asked her out, but unfortunately it had taken fourteen years. He kissed the top of her head, breathing in her intoxicating scent.

Esme pulled back and looked up at him, giving him a cheeky little grin. "You know you can kiss me?" She said sweetly.

Carlisle smiled. She had given him the go-ahead for him to kiss her, but no way in hell was he going to take advantage of her or this moment. It sounded silly, but he didn't want their first kiss to be a rushed, frenzied experience. He wanted it to be a passionate one. He wasn't asking her for sex. He was asking her to be his.

Leaning down, he pressed his lips against hers, giving her a simple, yet passionate kiss. He loved the way her lips felt against his. It felt even better when they began moving with his.

Pulling back, he gave her a beaming smile. She gave him one in return. "I think you should call, Elisha and tell her you don't need her to babysit anymore, and I'll call the restaurant and get a bigger table," he smirked.

Esme nodded, smiling. "Okay."

Carlisle gave her one last kiss before she pulled away and got up.

Tonight had turned out a little differently than he had expected, but he wouldn't change it for the world.

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**Author's Note: So what do you think? Was it any good? **

**Review please. :)**


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